The world is flying again. In the first nine months of 2024, around 1.1 billion tourists boarded planes for overseas breaks – taking flight levels back to 98% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest World Tourism Barometer from UN Tourism.
Despite ongoing economic and geopolitical turbulence, the global tourism industry is expected to make a full recovery by the end of 2024 and will most likely climb to new highs, more than eliminating the environmental gains of those pandemic times.
However, while the rebound in aviation has been impressive, its level of sustainability has distinctly unimpressive.
Only around one million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was produced in 2024, far below earlier projections of 2.5 million tonnes.
The International Air Transport Association says SAF volumes are increasing “disappointingly slowly” as oil companies struggling with tight margins prioritise short-term profit over long-term investment in sustainable solutions.
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